I. I do not wish to delay further in
composing a sirventes on this tune which pleases me, or wait for a long
time; and I know for sure that it will have a hostile reception, since I am
composing a sirventes about the hypocritical, ignorant men of Rome, which
heads the corruption that ruins everything good.
II. Rome, I am not surprised if the people stray, for you have pitched the world
into torment and war, and because of you merit and compassion are dead and
buried; deceitful Rome, you are the leader of all evils and their crown and
root; the good king of England was betrayed by you.
III. Crooked Rome, greed beguiles you: you shear too much wool from your sheep.
May the Holy Spirit who received human flesh hear my prayers and break your
beaks! Rome, I am not joining in your dance, for you are false and treacherous
towards us and the Greeks.
IV. Rome, you gnaw at the flesh and bones of foolish men and lead the blind with
you into the abyss; you transgress God’s commandments, so massive is your greed,
pardoning sins for money. Rome, you bear a great burden of evil on your back.
V. Rome, be well aware that your vile barter and your folly have lost us
Damietta. You act evilly, Rome. God crush and ruin you, for you act
hypocritically for the sake of money: base-born, pact-breaking Rome!
VI. Rome, I well and truly know that with the trick of false pardon you deliver
the nobility of France to torment, far from Paradise; and, Rome, you have killed
the good king Louis, for with false preaching you drew him away from Paris.
VII. Rome, you do little harm to the Saracens, but you send Greeks and Latins to
the slaughter. Down in the pit of the abyss, Rome, you make your home, in
perdition. God never make me take part, Rome, in the pardon or the pilgrimage
you made to Avignon.
VIII. Rome, you have killed many people without cause, and I hate the twisting
path you follow, Rome, because you close the door to salvation. Anyone who
follows in your footsteps has a bad helmsman, in both summer and winter, because
the Devil bears him off to the fire of Hell.
IX. Rome, it is easy to see what evil should be said of you, since you make
martyrs of Christians so that you can jeer at them. But in what book do you find
it written, Rome, that Christians should be killed? God, who is the true and
daily bread, grant that I see what I desire befall the Romans.
X. Rome, it is plainly obvious that you are too zealous in the corrupt
indulgences you created against Toulouse. Like a man with rabies, Rome, you gnaw
too much at your hands (you rave wildly? you attack the Church’s own members?),
stirring up discord. But if the valiant count lives another two years, France
will be sorry for your wiles.
XI. Rome, your wickedness is so great that you disregard God and his saints, so
wickedly do you behave, false and crooked Rome, for in you the joy of this world
hides away, diminishes and dies. And you commit great injustice towards Count
Raymond.
XII. Rome, God assist him and give power and strength to the Count who fleeces
and flays the French and walks all over them when they come to blows; and this
is a great pleasure for me. Rome, may God remember your great wrongdoing, if it
please Him; and deliver the Count from you and from death.
XIII. Rome, I am much comforted by the fact that very soon you will come to a
bad end, if the upright emperor rightly fulfils his destiny and does what he
ought to do. Rome, I tell you truly, we shall see your power in ruins. Rome, may
the true Saviour let me see this soon.
XIV. Rome, for money you carry out many base deeds, many unpleasant actions,
many crimes. So much do you want to rule the world that you have absolutely no
fear of God and His prohibitions; instead I see you doing ten times more evil
than I could possibly relate.
XV. Rome, you have your hooks so firmly latched on to what you can hold that it
has little chance of escape. If you do not soon lose power, the world will have
fallen into an evil trap, and be dead and vanquished, and worth will be in
ruins. Rome, these are the good works your pope performs!
XVI. Rome, He who is light of the world, and true life and true salvation, grant
you an evil fate, since you perform so many notorious, wicked deeds which make
the world cry out [in anguish]. Rome, disloyal, root of all evil, without fail
you will burn in the fires of Hell if you do not change your ways.
XVII. Rome, you can be blamed for the cardinals on account of their well-known
criminal sins, for they think of nothing but how to sell God and His friends,
and it is useless to rebuke them. Rome, it is disgusting to hear and listen to
your preaching!
XVIII. Rome, I am angry because your power is on the rise, and because on your
account great damage confronts us all, for you are the refuge and head of deceit
and shame and dishonour; and your priests are false hypocrites, Rome, and anyone
who has anything to do with them is acting extremely foolishly.
XIX. Rome, the pope acts wickedly when he fights with the emperor over the right
to the crown and declares him a heretic and grants absolution to his enemies,
for such absolution, out of step with reason, Rome, is not virtuous; rather,
anyone who defends him is disgraceful.
XX. Rome, may the Glorious One who suffered mortal pain for us upon the cross
give you a poor reward, for you always want to carry a full purse, Rome of evil
ways: you have your whole heart set on treasure, so greed is leading you into
the undying fire.
XXI. Rome, from the bile you keep in your throat comes the liquor which causes
the wicked man to die and to choke from the heart’s sweetness. So the wise man
trembles when he recognises and sees the deadly venom and where it comes from:
Rome, your breast is full of it, and it oozes from your heart.
XXII. Rome, people have long heard tell that you have an empty head because you
often shave it: so I think and believe you will need, Rome, to produce some
brains, as you and Cîteaux wear a shameful hat (have a shameful reputation) for
having caused a most cruel massacre at Béziers.
XXIII. Rome, with a cunning lure you set your trap, and eat many an evil
mouthful, whoever suffers for it. You have the face of a lamb with an innocent
look, [but] inside [you are] a ravening wolf, a crowned serpent sired by a
viper, which is why the Devil looks after you like one of his close friends.